Grass sticking to mower deck.

Grass keeps sticking and clumping up in my mower deck (Craftsman, 6hp, self-propelled, 22", mulch blade, closed mulching deck). I pulled the blade last night to get it sharpened and pulled layers of dried, matted grass from inside the deck. Pretty bad - it's choking the mower every few passes.

Any suggestions out there? Is there any teflon-type spray to treat the inside of the deck with?

If your blade is sharp (and it's a correct "mulching" type blade), and the mulching panels are in the proper place on the lawn mower, the about the only two reasons to get severe clumping is either the grass is way too long and you're trying to cut too much at once, or the grass is simply too wet.

Grass being too wet is usually the problem but cutting grass too deep is like trying to stuff 3 pounds of meat into a small Cuisinart trying to make some hamburger. It's just going to get all mucky and gooey because there isn't enough room for the proper mixing (or mulching) "action".

Or maybe it's the wrong brand of lawnmower. It's wasn't made by....... COMMUNISTS!!!... was it? WAS IT???

Sorry, I just had to stay in character according to what other's in the "group" assume.

It'll make a MAJOR difference if you clean the deck (down to the paint) and wax it. Even Armor-All helps. Cut often if you're mulching, and do it when the grass is dry. And yes, a sharp blade is the most important part of the equation.

There's some stuff called Mo-Deck that is for just that purpose. You clean your deck really well and spray it with the Mo-Deck and it helps prevent grass from sticking, and makes it much easier to clean.

What everyone else has said. Also, I have a Simplicity Broadmoor with a 44" deck on it, and I was having clumping problems as well. I cleanwd the deck, waxed it, and also put on Gator blades. All of these have combined to give an outstanding cut, with minimal clumping, and much finer mulch.

I use a mulching mower and have found that you need to sharpen both parts of the blade. The tips as well as the part that is lower and closer to the hub. With the mulching mower, I'm mowing every 4 days, BUT it's a whole lot easier to do it 2 times a week than once if I let it get longer. You might also try setting the wheels up higher a bit... or if the grass is getting pretty long, set it up high, then make another pass with the wheels set low.

One side effect since I started using the mulching mower last year.... The lawn grows back MUCH thicker, requiring the increase in frequency when mowing... But it's worth it, looks GREAT.

If they 'are' alien invaders, I'm fighting a losing battle... anyone have a laser-rifle-mower I can borrow? I'm sure there must be some secret arm of NASA or the federal gov't working on one.. Sign me up for beta testing!